Most of the people always attracted by the word natural as they feel more safe and secure. There is no argument there especially when they want to choose a cosmetic procedure such as filler. I am Sure that you had done a considerable amount of search and looked at many before and after picture for injectable treatment before you landed on our page. So, The questions that most ladies that still have is what is the most natural fillers and what would be the best that fits my needs?

What are Natural Fillers?

Therefore, we can generally speak about thee types of injectable cosmetic treatments that most people considered as fillers

1. Hyaluronic acid fillers (HA Fillers)
2. Collagen inducing fillers
3. Platelet-rich Plasma and Platelet-rich Fibrin (PRP and PRF)

HA Fillers

Hyaluronic acid is one of the naturally occurring fillers in our body. From a chemical point of view, it is a polysaccharide, and it has not protein in it. When we are young, our body has an ample supply of HA in our skin. As it has many sugar molecule, HA loves water and keeps our skin hydrated and gives us the nice volume that we love, of course with the help of other molecules such as collagen.

HA is not permanent, as we age and aggravated by multiple factors such as smoking and sun damage. Our body loses the battle, and we would be able to generate as much HA as we lose, hence signs of age such as lines and wrinkles. This results in volume loss. Therefore, we need to supply our body with an external source of HA fillers in the form in Dermal Fillers to fill in wrinkles.

What is the origin of HA dermal fillers?

Back in the day, Pharmaceutical companies used to extracts HA from animal sources. However, with the advanced Genetic Modification technology, all HA dermal fillers are produced by bacterial through the recombinant technology similar to other medications such as insulin.

What is best HA dermal filler?

We use mainly two brands that we get the best results with, Juvederm and Restylane. Both brands come in different consistency and thickness for different areas of the face (parts of the face)and injection site. For example, Dr. Alhallak (PhD in Pharmacy) uses Juvederm Voluma and Restylane Volyme for cheek augmentation. He also uses them other correction procedures where fillers are placed deep in the face. On the contrary, I use Juvederm Voleblla and Restylane Refyne for under eye correction as it is the thinnest and does not show any bluish color after injection for under eye bags. For Lips, we use Juvederm Volift or Restylane Kyss as they have the perfect balance between consistency and flowability for lip fillers.

How long do HA fillers last?

The thicker the HA filler, the longer it says. For example, Allergan claims that Voluma lasts for two years. So why do not we use Voluma for everything? Simply because we cannot! We cannot place voluma superficially otherwise will end up with an uneven skin surface and bluish light reflections. We are aiming for natural looking result, are not we?

Collagen inducing fillers

Fillers such as Sculptra and Radiesse have minimal effect as fillers themselves. However, they induce the gradual production of Natural Fillers in our body such as collagen, over time (collagen production). Does that mean that Sculptra and Radiesse are more natural than Juvederm and Restylane? The simple answer is NO! Sculptra, for example, are microsphere of Poly l lactic acid, which is a synthetic polymer. Whereas, the Radiesse is synthetic Calcium microsphere gel that works similar to Sculptra. Our Body will eventually dissolve Sculptra and Radiesse microsphere over time.

PRP and PRF

PRP is Platelet-rich Plasma which 100% natural product of our blood. We prepare the plasma in the clinic by centrifuging the blood, to produce the best plasma filled with growth factors. That sound very promising, and it is, however, PRP does not add volume at all. It helps mainly with skin texture, glow and fine lines especially if used with microneedling. PRF which is Platelet-rich fibrin is a way to get the plasma to stay in place longer. However, it would not work as fillers. PRF works perfectly for hair loss treatment

So what are Natural fillers?

The term Natural fillers have introduced in the field of cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery to refer to mixing any fillers with PRP. So basically, combining Voluma with PRP or Sculptra with PRP will produce what is called Natural fillers.

Does it make sense?

In my humble opinion, Yes. I do believe so, mainly if it is used with thicker fillers such as Voluma or Sculptra. The fillers will hold the plasma and together will produce a medium thickness hybrid material. This new natural filler can both provide an immediate filling effect and prolonged improvement in collagen production due to the slow release of growth factors.

Most of the studies showed the superiority of PRP mixed with non-crossed linked HA over the individual components.

How do we prepare the Natural fillers?

We have a protocol that we developed over the years for the best mixture, and it varies from fillers to another and according to the site of injection. What we notice that clients achieve best results from mixing PRP with Juvederm Voluma using 10 ml syringe and sterile connector hub. Most cosmetic professionals use the term Plasmascupt to refer to the mixture of PRP with Sculptra. Each clinic has its own way of preparing it. Dr. Kamal (PhD in Pharmacy) has done a large number of natural fillers mixtures until he mastered the recipe and most appropriate injection techniques

How long Does it Last?

We noticed that Natural fillers last longer than original fillers that used in the preparation. It also makes other fillers such as Radiesse and Sculptra work faster. This will help it to give a better immediate and long-term results.

Is it for everyone?

The simple answer is, NO! Dr. Alhallak (PhD in Pharmacy) likes to use natural fillers for clients who are asking to fill large areas of the face due to many wrinkles and fine lines. The injector will find it impractical to use HA filler by itself to correct. Other areas that we use natural fillers in is the chest and neck. We still prefer using HA fillers to correct one isolated issue such as Lip contouring, Lip fillers, Cheek Augmentation, under eye fillers, Jawline contouring

His long experience of Dermal fillers along with advanced knowledge of the chemical structure of different fillers allowed him to get out of the box and get more innovative fillers and treatment to fit most of our client cosmetic needs.